On Q List of Movie Reviews
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Quadrophenia (1979)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
5/19
5/19:
Quadrophenia is an excellent coming-of-age British picture with lots of music from The Who.
Of course, Pete Townshend couldn't resist from having a picture of himself on the wall in the boy's room. It's a funny
moment. I thought at first the movie might be somewhat pretentious, but the longer the show rolled, the more I got into
it. At the end, Quadrophenia turned out to be a great picture, envoking memories from
American Graffiti and The Warriors.
The cast is all natural, and the boy in lead, Phil Daniels, is the winner who showcases a wide range of emotions. The
young-looking Ray Winstone also stars as Kevin. I thought I recognized him at first and couldn't be mistaken, but
yes...it's him: Sting who was 28 years old at the time in the first role of his career. During the theatrical run of
Quadrophenia, Sting and The Police weren't yet popular.
The best part is the mod subculture. It's something I never knew about which looks interesting
with kids taking pride in what they wear and the scooters they ride. I love the fight at Brighton with a cliffhanger
ending at the White Cliffs of Beachy Head. It's when I became bowled over enough to give the film a final rating of '8'.
All in all, The Who made a wise decision to produce Quadrophenia which is now a timeless British youth picture.